These old DVDs are SAVED

7 years ago I showed off this massive film collection that I’ve been accruing since 1997. 

A lot of these films were recorded from TV in the 90s, onto Long Play VHS, then transferred to DVD in around 2006-7. The DVD recorder seemed a little faulty, though, and I didn’t seem to be able to play the discs properly after recording and finalising (almost like ‘locking the door’ on a DVD to stop any more content being recorded onto it, and to allow it to be played on other devices). Hence, most of these discs stayed in storage under my bed, as they had done for 20 years. 

In December ’25 my PC pretty much conked out, so I had to splurge on a new one. Along with presents for family and meals out, I figured I may as well invest more. I’m a tight bastard most of the year, so why not shell out more on a Blu-Ray player? They’re under £100 these days. Not to mention, an old college mate of mine had moved abroad and had left a load of DVDs and Blu-Rays at his dad’s. He kindly donated them to me. I needed something to watch them on.

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So, that month I made a purchase; my dad and I wired everything up and I tried out one of the donated Blu-Rays. Brilliant picture quality. Everything worked fine. But what about the DVD+Rs storing all those VHS films? 

Turns out, they play too. They even fast forward, rewind and pause, something my old DVD+R recorder didn’t seem to be able to do, to my frustration. I’ve enjoyed revisiting some grainy, low-quality versions of some classic movies. I’ve watched the likes of Videodrome and Psycho, both recorded from TV on Long Play (VHS tape recorded at half speed, meaning you could fit double the video time onto the tape). I find, these days, I understand the plots much more than I did in my late teens and early 20s. 

I’ve got a list of old films to revisit and I’ve tapped through a few of them. I have more to watch and am looking forward to immersing myself in some brilliant (and usually little-known) cinema.

Try the New Sticks 'n' Sushi in Spinningfields

 

Looking forward this week: 

TV and movie convention For the Love of Retro takes place this weekend in Telford, which is a little too far for me. An incredible line-up though. I could easily have spent £400 if I could be arsed with a long drive and more money on a hotel room, which I can’t. 

New bar and restaurant Sticks ‘n’ Sushi opened in Spinningfields, a Japanese / Scandinavian chain. Manchester Nightlife are headed there on Saturday for cocktails and mocktails, plus to look around a few other bars. Glamorous decor, chilled background beats, possibly the odd celeb knocking about. Come join the Meetup group. See the newest parts of the city. 4 of us so far. Will be more by the weekend.

3 Million Hits

This blog passed the 3 million hit mark yesterday. I’ve been running it since 2008. I hit 1 million in April ‘23 and 2 million in April this year. Either people are suddenly interested in my random nights out and amateur psychological musings, or there’s a whole lot of bot traffic out there. I suspect the latter. 

I annoyed Sabre from Gladiators with my grammar pedantry. 

Peter Cullen died, yet another person I could have met at one convention or another, but didn’t. I'm sure he was booked to attend at something local. He voiced the titular Predator, Eeyore the donkey from Whinnie the Pooh and Optimus Prime in the 1984 animated Transformers: The Movie. 

It’s a bank holiday tomorrow and I predictably have put up a last minute meetup for tonight: drinks on Deansgate, if that floats your boat. I always forget when it’s a bank holiday, and no other organiser on Meetup seems to put much up either. There’s a women’s cinema trip, a live music acoustic set in a pub, a bouldering session and a 70s disco night – great if that’s your thing – but not much else. I guess it’s down to me. 9pm, Slug and Lettuce Deansgate, 9pm.

 

This Machinist Diet is starting to get painful.

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2 weeks ago I started this Machinist Diet: an attempt to eat like Christian Bale did in preparation for his role as an anorexic insomniac. My goal isn't to look like him - it's to hit 72.2kg. 

It’s taking a lot longer than I thought, although it’s really starting to hurt now. Yesterday I just had tuna and apple for lunch, with no other meal all day. Then I blasted through circuit class as best as I could. This morning I did pump, sauna and steam. I’m about to eat again now. I’m still 82.4kg, a very minor reduction considering how little I’ve eaten and how much exercise I’ve done. Both my skipping ropes snapped on Thursday, so I bought 2 more, much sturdier this time. 

One thing I’ve noticed on The Machinist Diet – you don’t have to clean the kitchen anywhere near as much. Hardly any food prep or consumption happens in it. I still have a load of soup to eat, plus stuff in my freezer. I’m out of milk, protein drinks, cheese and eggs. 

Oh, also, I watched all the (very interesting) extras on The Machinist DVD. 

Let’s see what happens next...

Bank Holiday Breakfast

I was at a family gathering yesterday where a family member was raving about Dishoom’s breakfasts. Dishoom serves up great Indian delicacies and lassi milkshakes. I’ve been for lunch a year ago, but I kept meaning to try their other menus. Here’s their breakfast menu. 

Hence, I’ve set up a meetup with Manc Mates for food, 10am, Sunday morning. Come join. 

I predictably have no plans for Sunday night, when we have a Bank Holiday on the Monday. I’m all ears...

Up! at Six Trees: Afternoon House Music

Love a good house music stomp. Thankfully promoters Up! Supplied an afternoon on the terrace of Six Trees in Trafford yesterday afternoon. Great music from Grace Sands and others including my friend Paul Smith. 

I set up a meetup with Manchester Nightlife and got a group together - some regulars, some new people - we met in Impossible then got a taxi down there. Great music and atmos. Weather held up too, thankfully, as the sun went down.

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Machinist Diet Update

Last Saturday I described this insane diet basted on Christian Bale’s efforts to prepare for his role in The Machinist. 

The problem with a diet like this is that we all have food in our cupboards, fridges and freezers, and there’s no point it going off. So you might as well eat it. And that’s what I’ve been doing: with one meal per day, munching through the eggs, bread and other perishables. I also had made a huge pan of vegetable soup. I had some ingredients for a recipe, so I bought the remaining goods and cooked that too. I’ve actually got loads of non-tuna-and-pineapple stuff still to go. Furthermore, my mum – who doesn’t yet know I’m doing this project – invited me round for a curry. This absolutely stuffed me. When you're only eating one meal a day, it takes a long time to use up. 

Soon, though, it will be just a can of tuna and an apple as a daily meal - as confirmed by the director below...

I watched The Machinist, and understood it a lot better this time. I’ve also watched the commentary track, in which director Brad Anderson clears up a few of the more confusing plot points. I totally forgot Michael Ironside and Jennifer Jason Leigh were in this. 

I started this at 86.2, went down to 83.2 and am currently back up at 85.9. Teething problems. I’m steadily skipping it off. Watch what happens this next week.

 

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